


Captured my Attention

by AlphaPockets



Series: WidoFjord Week [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: 2019, Day 7, First Meeting, M/M, Pre-Slash, Prequel, Song Lyrics, Widofjord Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 18:06:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19323358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaPockets/pseuds/AlphaPockets
Summary: Oh, you capture my attention. Carefully listening, don't wanna miss a thing. Keeping my eyes on you. Oh, you capture my attention. I'm anticipating, I'm watching, I'm waiting for you to make your move. Got me on my toes





	Captured my Attention

**Author's Note:**

> I just remembered it's Widofjord Week and I feel terrible for missing out on it???? So. Yeah, I will be backdating these prompts because Y'all know these boiz are my jam.  
> Song: "Toes" by Lights.

The class was the Globalization and the World Market. Why he had decided to take this class, Fjord had no idea, but there he was. It was a few weeks in, and he had already come to the conclusion that their professor was both a bit vein and a bit full of shit. He was used to both, as his best friend was the epitome of New England cockiness. The subject matter was dull, as well, but he needed another general education class to fill in the blank he and his academic advisor left accidentally when focusing on changing his major the year before. This one had been a perfect time slot, sure, and even seemed to hold promise. But the fact that there were so many openings that close to the start date of the semester should have been a hint.

It was three weeks into the semester. It was the point of school when people had started forming their cliques and making friends. It was also that time when the professor was bound to assign a group project that he would have to participate in. Fjord wa not great at group projects. It was not out of his unwillingness to contribute, but he was the magnet for people who did not want to do the work. Mixed with his schedule with the swim team, Fjord literally did not have time to do extra work.

His placement in class had been strategic in his mind. He was a few rows from the front so he would not hold the attention of their professor for too long, but far enough from the back to avoid the people who would distract him. Fjord’s ability to focus has improved over time, but there was a chance that they could still be more than his medication and practice could handle. It was also a place where students got lost among each other. For the first two weeks, Fjord had the luxury of spreading everything out with no one around to take up space. Until the last two classes, that was, when someone had started to shift closer with a hopeful look in her eyes.

It was not the Fjord was annoyed or put off by her clear interest. He just had none. The man was still recovering from grasping his own poor mental health and learning how to navigate his future knowing he would have medication and therapy needed for most of it. If Jes had not been enough to really help him from drowning in the water, this poor girl stood no chance. So, he had smiled at her politely and looked forward for the classes. Today was no different, even as she was now sitting in the very next seat over. Fjord just pulled his class supplies in closer and forced his mind to focus on class and ignore the prickling on the back of his neck that said she was watching him.

And, as he had feared, the mention of partner work came from Darington’s mouth and Fjord sighed heavily. He could _feel_ her looking with interest. It was as tempting to look at her as it was to look away. His eyes looked to his right and saw the way her eyes were locked on him as if she could will him to look more at him. So, Fjord looked to the left and was startled for a number of reasons as he was suddenly aware of someone there.

The first was someone had been sitting net to him. Fjord had never noticed the man sit down or heard him talk the entire time they had classes. He seemed to just exist in a subtle way that caused Fjord’s mind to glance over him. He had never seen this guy get to class or leave. He had never seen the guy in the hall or on campus. While it was a big campus, this was an upperclassman course, so he had to at least be a junior as well. Three years and never seeing someone he had sat next to for nine classes seemed absurd. And yet, here was that moment.

The second was that how there was something about him. It was as if the world stopped spinning suddenly and the world jolted to a stop. He could hear his own swallow as he took in the guy. He was a red head with the ruddy, curled locks fought back into a bun. Some of those curls had escaped their hold and fell into his face. He had a pronounced jaw and nose, full lips and strong cheeks. But it was those eyes that caught Fjord off guard. They were what got his attention the most. They were almost crystal-like. Bright and a clear blue like an opal hit with a light. His eyelashes were a light tan, so all the attention went there. And Fjord could not look away.

Third was how the guy met his gaze and seemed just as startled as he had been. The blue orbs looked up at him owlishly. Blinking slowly as if unsure whether to keep contact or to flee. Fjord knew he was a big man, and maybe even intimidating, but he was not sure why the man was looking so fearful in that moment.

And finally, he realized that, for some reason, the worst outcome his mind could form was that this guy would not talk to him. Act on this panic that welled in those gorgeous eyes that just peered back at him. Waiting to see what Fjord’s move was going to be. So he swallowed again and cleared his throat. He was a collegiate athlete and had grown up in Texas. He was a man used to drinking plenty of water. He had a bottle next to him in that moment, in fact, but now he felt like his mouth was as dry as the desert.

“Want to work together,” he finally asked. And then his breath caught as he watched the words work over in the man’s mind.

He was gorgeous now that Fjord could get a look at him. He was all delicate lines and soft features despite the angular build of his face. Maybe it was the way his heathered t-shirt with a faded decal fell so loose on his frame or the way his hands held his pen with such elegance that made the swimmer think he was something unnatural. He had never felt this momentary pause. The need to know what he would say. What he would do.

 

Caleb did know the man. He had seen the guy the first day of class. He was towering with wide shoulders and a strong build. He was polite manners and stunning smiles. It was everything Caleb would avoid like the plague normally, but he was also a perfect camouflage for the redhead. Someone like this other student, Fjord according to the roster, would keep attention off him. After the first week, Caleb had noted that he was more than just attractive. Objectively speaking, Caleb could grant him that. He had fair, soft features, a deep and rich brown skin tone, close-cropped and well-maintained hair, and eyes that looked like honey. And the smile. But he was also smart, charismatic, and easy to sit by. He had ticks, Caleb had noticed right away—pen drumming or foot tapping. None of it made sitting next to him detrimental.

So, he stayed. And it seemed Fjord never noticed him. Caleb was quick and silent in class. He got set up and broke down his desk before most students even moved. He had no desire to be looked at when not needed. He was able to learn and take notes without anyone talking to him or being disruptive. It seemed Fjord was also a shield. The shenanigans that took place behind their row had been deflected with one sharp glare the week before. The only change had been the girl who had been inching closer. He figured they would talk soon, and he would have his perfect hiding spot set up. He ignored the slight disappointment that she had been noticed first, but then Caleb also remembered that it was the point of being silent. To be ignored.

And when the professor told them to find a partner, Caleb had not even moved. He figured there would be a person left over who he would be stuck with. That was what happened a few times. The professor made it embarrassing and pulled them to the front of the class to be adopted into a group. The losers of the class who had not made a friend sooner. He simply looked forward and waited for the inevitable. For Fjord to ask the girl on the other side. For him to be stuck with a partner who would either be brilliant or a nightmare. Then he felt eyes on him.

He looked over and found Fjord looking at him. There was such bemusement in his gaze mixed with something Caleb could not account for. He was good at reading people by now. He did not make it in life without that skill, after all. Still, the hint in his eyes that Caleb could not pick up seemed to flicker in and out with intensity. It made Caleb suddenly uncomfortable to be the subject of such attention. His pulse picked up, and he began to feel a bit lightheaded. In the back of his mind, the redhead knew that he needed to breathe and that was why he was feeling weird, but he couldn’t make his lungs work. He was just stuck, transfixed by the moment. Now that he had Fjord looking right at him, seeing him for the first time, the last thing he wanted was for the man to look away.

But he waited to hear what would come from his mouth. What comment or question he would say. It felt like eons before the other man spoke. When he did, it was that low rumble he was used to, but with a hint of embarrassment. Asking if they could work together. Words failed Caleb. He watched with frightened curiosity as Fjord’s face seemed to shift through emotions and thoughts. Maybe wondering if Caleb would say no, or anything at all. Like he was alarmed that he has spoken at all. But the hope in there, the slightly openness of his expression made Caleb lick his lips, swallow, and nod.

It was like a light flipped. Caleb watched how his face glowed. It lit up with delight. Eyes were bright and the dimples creased his cheeks as those teeth became visible. Even when Fjord looked forward as Darington spoke again, Caleb couldn’t look away. It was as though the man was terrified to miss anything in that moment. A glance. A fidget. Anything. He couldn’t look away.

He couldn’t tell why that eye contact turned his world upside down. Why he couldn’t breathe right. Why he couldn’t help but to wonder what now, and what next.


End file.
